Beijing: The government of China has now lifted the lockdown that has been going on for nearly a month in Xi’an city due to the increasing outbreak of the Covid-19 global epidemic before the Winter Olympics. The population of the city is around 1.3 crore.
Meanwhile, in a district of Beijing, about two million people were tested for Covid-19. The government has asked people in high-risk areas of Beijing not to leave the city after 25 cases of infection were reported in Fengtai district and 14 other places. People of Fengtai were seen standing in queues on snow-covered footpaths to check in the bitter cold. The Winter Olympics in China is being held amidst strict guidelines. Athletes, employees, journalists, and officials will be kept in isolation. It is mandatory for the participating players to get the anti-Covid-19 vaccine or to be isolated for a certain period after reaching China.
The Xi’an government on Monday announced the end of the lockdown. A day earlier, commercial flights were resumed from the city. The ruling Communist Party in Xi’an adopted a strategy of “zero tolerance” regarding Covid-19. Under this, in case of a single case, lockdown, travel restrictions and mass investigation are mandatory. Xi’an is located about a thousand kilometers (600 miles) southwest of Beijing, where the Winter Olympics begin on February 4. Entry into the city was suspended from December 22 following an outbreak of the ‘delta’ form of the coronavirus.
According to official figures, only 18 new cases of Covid-19 were reported locally in China on Monday, of which six cases came in Beijing. There are currently 2,754 people under treatment in the country. So far 1,05,660 cases of Covid-19 have been reported in China and 4,636 people have died due to infection. Despite the reduction in infection cases, measures have been tightened in view of the Olympics, where everyone coming to Beijing for the competition will be screened.
Organizers said on Monday that 39 of the 2,586 athletes, team officials, and others who arrived here since January 4 tested positive after they landed at Beijing airport. At the same time, 33 others were found infected after reaching the ‘bubble’ system designed to keep the players separate from the general public. The identity of these infected people was not disclosed in the statement. China had made a mandatory 21-day quarantine for those coming from abroad but exempted those coming for the Olympics from this rule if they were confirmed not to be infected.
